Friday, January 30, 1998
Raising Spirits
SPIRIT: There is more to the Spirit Squad than pomp and
circumstance
By Traci Mack
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
They labor every game, giving the fans 110 percent. They
practice for hours on end, risking serious injury, and contributing
blood, sweat and tears. They are as much a part of our university
as Royce Hall or Bruin Walk, yet we take them for granted.
They aren’t the football, baseball or basketball team; they’re
the UCLA Spirit Squad.
Consisting of the dance team, cheerleaders, yell leaders and
mascots, the squad has grown over the years to become an
institution on campus. However, few students actually know how much
work it takes to become a member.
The tryout processes for prospective squad members are rigorous
to say the least. Depending on which division of the squad they try
out for, prospective members are subjected to dance auditions,
stunting displays or a performance of their own choreographed
routine. Applicants are judged on precision, showmanship and a
personal interview by a panel of former Spirit Squad members and
UCLA officials.
After members pass the daunting audition process, they are in
store for some hard work.
"We do a lot of work over the summer, when our practices can get
to be up to five hours," says Erin Avalos. "During the year, we
practice twice a week, three hours a day."
With all that practicing, one can easily see how being a member
of the squad could be time consuming. However, there is one dancer
who splits her time between dancing for the Bruins and performing
with the Laker girls.
Some would venture to say that cheerleading and dancing do not
make an athlete. However, it is a little-known fact that
cheerleading injuries are likely to be more serious than those
suffered on the football field. Dancers are also prone to hurting
themselves, especially considering the high difficulty of the
routines performed by the team.
Despite all of the hard work put into preparation and
fine-tuning by the Spirit Squad, Avalos says it’s all worth it in
the end.
"I love what I do," says Avalos sincerely.
The Spirit Squad has come a long way from its roots as a small
six-person afterthought to the football team. Back then, only one
football road trip was financed by the university, and the team did
not travel to basketball games at all.
These days, the team travels with accommodations that rival
those of the teams they cheer for, with expenses paid by the
athletic department.
In addition to not traveling in its early days, the squad was
required to design their own uniforms. Now, the squad receives a
bounty of equipment from Reebok, including uniforms, sweats and
shoes. Again, this is at no cost to the members of the squad.
While the history of the squad has had its high points, there
have been moments of discord as well. The most publicized of these
occurred in 1972 when the squad consisted of five whites and one
Asian.
Five African American applicants claimed that the tryout process
was discriminatory, claiming the judging was biased towards
sorority girls. (The squad had five Kappa Alpha Thetas and a
Tri-Delta.)
In response to the charges, university officials placed the five
applicants on their own segregated song squad. Consequently, the
African American squad was booed at games, and fraternity members
would stand and turn their backs whenever they began to cheer.
Despite some bumpy stretches in its past, the Spirit Squad
embodies Bruin pride. They are often seen on the sidelines with
television cameras focused on them as much as on the game. The team
is no stranger to being in the public eye, after making public
appearances and doing community service around Los Angeles.
"We don’t really get that much media attention. We’re here to
support the team," says Avalos.
So, the next time you’re at a game, enjoying an ice-cold drink
at halftime, take a look down at center court. Those people do not
get paid, they don’t have many incentives – they do it for the love
of what they do.
DERRICK KUDO
UCLA’s outstanding cheerleading squad performs at the Bruin
basketball game against Louisville.